Manitoba's new seniors strategy comes with boost to home-care funding over next 2 years

Manitoba unveiled its new strategy for seniors Wednesday at the provincial legislature, which came with a boost in funding for the self and family managed care program.

The program, through which seniors arrange their own home-care services, will get a $12.6-million annual boost in 2022-23, and another $1.3-million increase in 2023-24, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Scott Johnston said in a news release.

An expansion of palliative care will start with an initial $1.3 million spent in 2023-24, beginning in the Southern Health Regional Authority, with the plan to roll it out across the province. The province said that this will improve access and support for caregivers, and that Southern Health is also expected to reach out to First Nations communities to provide access to supports.

"Once the program is initiated properly and Southern Health is able to do that, then we can certainly learn from that as we expand it to the whole province," Johnston said at the announcement.

Johnston also announced the Rainbow Resource Centre and Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg will receive a combined total of $550,000 in 2022-23 and another $200,000 in funding in 2023-24 for various programming directed at aging in place and social support.

"The strategy encourages seniors to live healthy and productive lives in our communities, making Manitoba an ideal place to age," he said.

The development of the strategy stemmed from a ministerial tour with 13 roundtables, as well as interviews, focus groups and discussion groups including more than 900 participants. The province also received more than 10,000 survey responses through its EngageMB platform, it said in the release.

The minister said more funding announcements are on the way over the next few weeks as part of $30 million the ministry plans to spend over the next two years.

The seven focus areas listed in the strategy are safe, inclusive, accessible communities; navigation; high-quality services; financial security; reducing ageism and ableism; Indigenous engagement and co-design; and collaboration and accountability.

"Each of these focus areas include strategic initiatives that will help to make our vision a reality," Johnston said.

Connie Newman, executive director for the Manitoba Association of Senior Centres, believes the strategy provides a foundation to address several aspects of aging within Manitoba.

"It will also bring about improvements in system navigation, making it easier to find information and access to services and supports we need," Newman said.

The Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba applauded the government's strategy, and is encouraged by the emphasis on Indigenous engagement and promotion of safe, inclusive and accessible communities.

This "announcement shows that the government was listening to advice from stakeholders who called for a response to the diverse needs of seniors in our province," Joyce Kristjansson, executive director of the association, said in a statement.

Call for independent advocate

But not everyone is on board with the new strategy.

Carmen Nedohin, president of the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, believes some of the concepts are good, but says staffing is still a major concern.

"Without addressing that systemic issue, I don't know how they can promise that there's going to be better access to home care, unless they're planning to lean on private suppliers," she said.

"You can promise all kinds of things that are going to get better tomorrow, but if you don't have the people and you don't have the plan in place to find those people, you know, what good is it?"

Nedohin said promises from the PC government don't hold the weight they should.

"It's pretty cheeky to be making promises now and there's been so many promises made in the last few years and nothing, nothing done," she said. 

"It wasn't just Heather Stefanson. It started before that, but it it hasn't changed. So I think that it's sad. It's just a continuation of things getting worse and worse."

Nedohin wants an independent legislated seniors advocate, and so does the Manitoba NDP.

"The PCs promised a strategy for seniors years ago, and in that time, they have sold off affordable housing for seniors, cut and privatized home care services, transferred seniors hundreds of miles away from their families for hospital care and actually cut long-term care beds," health critic Uzoma Asagwara said in a statement. 

"They have also refused to create an independent seniors' advocate, which we believe is critical to giving seniors the dignity and respect they deserve."